De-identification

The process of removing or obscuring personally identifiable information from data, images, or video to protect an individual's privacy. In video contexts, de-identification may involve blurring, pixelating, or replacing faces and other identifying features. For sign language video, de-identification is particularly challenging because the face carries essential linguistic information that cannot simply be removed without destroying the message. Effective de-identification of sign language video requires technologies that can disguise identity while preserving grammatically meaningful facial expressions.